🌍 This Week in Web3forGood
💚 Spotlight: Plastiks
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This week, we’re excited to share an important conversation with Trym Lyngset, Co-Founder and Head of Product at Plastiks, a blockchain-based platform that is revolutionizing plastic waste management.
“Decentralized recovery has to be the future. That means, local companies are first recovering plastic in their local communities, and then scaling and using a platform like Plastiks to transparently showcase what they’re doing. We are moving away from a world where big companies are the only actors who can recover plastic and more towards a world where local communities can actively participate and be compensated for doing so,” says Trym. Read the interview below 👇.
Thanks to our friends at Climate Collective for making this conversation possible 💚.
Also below: a TLDR summary of Layer 2 blockchains for total beginners + the usual roundup of news, ideas, opportunities, events, projects, and more.
WAGMI (we are going to make an impact!)
What’s Inside
📣 Latest News
🔍 TLDR: Decentralized Governance
📚 What We’re Thinking About
🔈 Podcasts
🚀 Opportunities
🎪 Events
📡 On Our Radar
✨ And one more thing
💚 Climate Collective Member Spotlight: Plastiks
In a world grappling with the monumental challenge of plastic pollution, innovative solutions are emerging to combat this pressing issue. One such pioneering initiative is Plastiks, a blockchain-based platform that is revolutionizing plastic waste management. Web3ForGood recently had the chance to speak with Trym Lyngset, Plastiks’ Co-Founder and Head of Product. In our conversation, Trym shared insights into the genesis of Plastiks, its mission to drive positive environmental impact, and the transformative role of technology in reshaping plastic waste management. Read on for more.
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What is your role at Plastiks, and what excites you most about what you do?
I’m one of the co-founders of Plastiks, which is a company with a mission to make a positive impact on the environment by including plastic recovery in everyday life and business. We started Plastiks, in spite of the devastation that plastic creates in the natural environment, we realized that it’s still hard to convince companies to produce less. At Plastiks, instead, we focus on holding plastic producers accountable for what they’ve already produced by empowering them to recover what they’d introduced to the ecosystem.
Day-to-day, I work as the Head of Product. What excites me the most about this work is when the projects we fund report back to us sharing their accomplishments that they wouldn’t have been able to achieve if it weren’t for us. For example, we worked with a group in India who was able to build a medical facility to help the local community, all because a beer brand in Spain that we worked with wanted to recover one bottle for each bottle they sold. If it weren’t for Plastiks, that medical facility wouldn’t exist.
Tell us more about Plastiks. How did it come to be?
I remember one day, I was surfing in Sri Lanka, and there were plastic bottles everywhere. That’s when it hit me. I knew I needed to do something about this.
Continuing reading the full interview here.
Get Involved
[This feature is part of our ongoing “💚 Climate Collective Member Spotlight” series. Web3ForGood was a Climate Collective Grant Recipient in 2023. We appreciate The Climate Collective’s partnership and support in connecting us with member organizations for this series. All opinions remain our own.]
📣 Latest News
$REGEN and poidh ran a contest to REGENerate local areas and broke records
Multicoin, Coinbase Ventures Invest in Latin American Stablecoin-Powered SuperApp El Dorado
Coinbase Launches its Smart Wallets, Dubbing It Crypto’s ‘IPhone Moment’
Global Policy, Regulation, and Adoption News
Project Updates
🔍TLDR: Layer 2 Blockchains
New to Web3? Welcome! TLDR is where we offer a simplifed explanation of a term used often in this newsletter. If there's anything you're curious about, reply and let us know.
Today’s topic: Layer 2 Blockchains
Imagine your favorite blockchain like Bitcoin or Ethereum as a super busy highway. As more and more people use it, traffic jams start to happen, slowing everything down and making it more expensive to get where you’re going. That’s where Layer 2 blockchains come in. Think of Layer 2 as extra lanes or side roads added to this highway to help ease the congestion. These solutions are built on top of the existing blockchain (Layer 1) to make everything run smoother and faster.
Why do we need Layer 2? Well, as blockchains get more popular, they can get clogged up, causing slow transactions and high fees. Layer 2 solutions tackle these problems by handling a lot of transactions off the main blockchain while still benefiting from its rock-solid security. It's like doing most of the driving on those side roads and only merging onto the main highway when necessary, making the whole journey quicker and cheaper.
So, how do these Layer 2 solutions actually work? Most transactions are processed off the main blockchain, reducing the overall traffic. These transactions are then bundled together and periodically updated on the main blockchain, ensuring everything stays secure and transparent. This means we get the best of both worlds: the speed and low cost of off-chain transactions and the security of the main blockchain.
There are a few different types of Layer 2 solutions. State channels let users conduct many transactions off-chain and only record the final result on the blockchain. Sidechains are separate blockchains that run parallel to the main one, handling transactions on their own but anchored to the main blockchain for security. Then there are rollups, which bundle multiple transactions into one and record it on the main blockchain, reducing the load even more.
Some real-world examples? The Lightning Network is a Layer 2 solution for Bitcoin that makes transactions faster and cheaper. For Ethereum, we have Optimism, a Layer 2 solution that enhances scalability and reduces fees significantly. Optimism uses rollup technology to bundle transactions and update the main blockchain periodically, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently. This innovation is like adding turbo boosters to our blockchain highways.
TLDR: Layer 2 blockchains are a fantastic way to make our favorite blockchains faster, cheaper, and more scalable. They keep things running smoothly even as more people jump on board. With cool solutions like the Lightning Network and Optimism, the future of blockchain technology is looking brighter and more accessible for everyone.
📚 What We’re Thinking About
🍷 From Tuscan Wines To Mongolian Mines, Blockchain Is Transforming Supply Chains. (Forbes)
🤝 In the ongoing SAB 121 fight, here’s how crypto can move forward with bipartisan support. (Unchained)
✅ The Ethereum Government: How Code Changes Are Made to the World’s Most Sprawling Blockchain. (Galaxy)
🤖 India’s election wasn’t the deepfake doomsday many feared. (Rest of the World)
🧞 AI Is a False God: The real threat with super intelligence is falling prey to the hype. (The Walrus)
🌻 It’s time to take back our digital communities. (Blockworks)
🔈 Podcasts
Crypto Altruism Podcast Episode 158 - Treegens - Decentralized, Permissionless Tree Planting with World Record Tree Planter Jimi Cohen
Green Pill Season 4 - Ep. 21 - Honour - wholesome money W/ Andy Tudhope
RadicalxChange(s) - Frank H. McCourt Jr.: Founder of Project Liberty (Part I)
🚀 Opportunities
Apply: General Magic is hiring a Grants Manager Fundraiser.
Apply: Avara (ie Lens, Aave, Family) is hiring a Social Media Manager and Growth Director.
Apply: Base is hiring a Global Ecosystem Growth Lead and a DeFi Ecosystem Associate.
Hack: Build with Celo: Web3 for Small Businesses hackathon focuses on solutions for small businesses and building real-world use cases for the phone.
Funding: 600,000 OP is allocated for Optimism Onchain Summer incentives.
Funding: Potluck is running Blockchain Clubs - Summer Funding, a round by Blockchain Acceleration Foundation to fund blockchain clubs in the summer.
Collect: Starting this week, there will be 2 - 3 large limited-edition collections dropping on the Celosphere marketplace every week as part of Celosphere Summer.
Participate: Monthly Earth Day is a global event that happens on the 22nd every month, not just once a year. Get involved on June 22 and share on X to @HighlyArtistic with the hashtag #MonthlyEarthDay.
Hosting an event that you’d like to see listed? Reply here or send us a DM.
🎪 Events
🆕= New to the roundup this week
Virtual
This week’s upcoming X spaces focusing on using Web3 for positive impact in the real world (+ recordings), curated by @civilmonkey. 🆕
BUILDH3R | Interactive Learn & Earn Workshops is happening June 7 and 8 (TODAY). 🆕
Sustaining and Measuring the Impact of Public Goods - June 2024 DWeb Meetup - is happening June 13. 🆕
Closed-Door Meeting: Not All Blockchains are the Same by Global Blockchain Business Council is happening June 13. *must be from a regulator, government agency, central bank, or international standards organizations in order to attend.
Launch Event - Outcomes Report on "Ethical Principles for Responsible Technology Innovation is happening June 19. 🆕
SC07: Consumer Crypto | Demo Day by Seed Club is happening June 20.
Digital Finance in Africa is happening June 20 and 21 (online AND in person in Mauritius) 🆕
Build with Celo: Web3 for Small Businesses hackathon is happening June 28 - July 15. 🆕
IRL
Governable Spaces: Democratic Design for Everyday Tech is happening June 8 in San Francisco.
LabWeek Field Building is happening June 10-16 in Healdsburg, CA.
Proof of Talk: Where All Global Leaders in Web3 Meet is happening June 10 and 11 in Paris. 🆕
Meeting of the DATF at WEF Headquarters is happening June 11 in Geneva. 🆕
Digital Finance in Africa is happening June 20 and 21 in Mauritius. 🆕
Women in Digital Assets Forum 2024 is happening June 25 in Stamford, CT.
Decipher 2024, a retreat for teams actively building on Algorand, is happening June 26-27 in Barcelona.
Responsible Tech London: A Better Tech Future for Youth is happening June 27 in London. Application required.
Point Zero Forum 2024 is happening July 1-3 in Zurich. 🆕
SheFi Summit is happening on July 7 in Brussels.
The Regen Village at EthCC is happening July 8-12 in Brussels. 🆕
EthCC[7] is happening July 8-11 in Brussels.
FIL Dev Summit @ EthCC is happening July 9 in Brussels.
Group Income Launch Party at the Internet Archive is happening July 21 in San Francisco. 🆕
Funding the Commons is happening July 24-25 in Tokyo.
BaseCamp is happening July 31 - August 4 in Idyllwild-Pine Cove, CA.
DWeb Camp is happening August 7-11 in Camp Navarro, CA.
REBOOT: THE NEW REALITY is happening September 4-5 in San Francisco.
📡 On Our Radar
Group Income is a voluntary, decentralized, end-to-end encrypted Basic Income system for you and your friends.
Credit Collective is a collective of Builders, Fund Managers and Investors working together to help build the next generation of credit solutions.
$MENTO will facilitate decentralized governance for the Mento platform, the largest Celo-native project (supporting 5 stablecoins with over 3 million active $cUSD holders).
Lift dollar (USDL) is a yield-bearing stablecoin with Argentina as its first market.
✨ And one more thing
GoodDollar Crypto Academy is a groundbreaking initiative from The GoodDollar Community Moderation Team that aims to educate the GoodDollar community with the essential knowledge and tools to thrive in the dynamic landscape of Web3. The first post in the series is all about the fundamentals of money. The content is also available in Spanish.